GEAR ALERT: Check Your Cams

by UKC Gear Sep/2008This news story has been read 26,321 times

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Dan Middleton, the BMC's Technical Officer reports:

A recent BMC technical report investigated an incident, where a Rock Empire camming device failed. The climber fell 16m and was lucky not to be badly injured. Take the time to check the wire stems of your flexible cams every now and again...it may save your life.

Flexible camming devices have helped revolutionise modern climbing. It isn't very common, but the flexible wire stems can become damaged by repeated use. Checking for damage isn't always easy with some modern designs, but is worth the effort because damaged wire stems can fail when loaded in a fall. Check for broken wires or signs of corrosion every now and again.

More details with a report from the BMC Technical Committee at :www.thebmc.co.uk